Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City)
Copyright 2006 The Deseret News Publishing Co.
Three large fires are still burning in southern Utah; however, containment dates for the two largest are estimated for this weekend.
The Jarvis Fire has burned more than 50,700 acres southwest of St. George. It is about 85 percent contained, with full containment set for Saturday. Interagency Incident Management Team public affairs officer Julian Rhinehart said firefighters still have nine miles of a fire line left to build to contain the blaze.
The 17,750-acre Kolob Fire burning north of Virgin and within Zion National Park is more than 60 percent contained and continues to threaten several homes in the area. No evacuation orders have been issued, but the fire has closed all trails west of the Virgin River.
Another, smaller fire was being monitored as crews were shifted to cover larger fires. The Lost Peak Fire started Wednesday near the town of Motoqua in northwestern Washington County. It has burned about 450 acres.
Thirteen new fires started from spotty lightning Wednesday morning, but Rhinehart said crews were able to douse them quickly, leaving little damage to foliage. Light rains in the area haven’t had much of an impact on the firefighting efforts.